The Sun and Moon meet at 21 Libra 07 at 10:55 AM PDT of the 14th, lovingly cupped (it’s Libra, after all) in an 8 degree span by Mercury approaching for Superior Conjunction (the 19th) and Zeus and the South Node which both Moon and Sun are on their way toward. Then there are the oppositions: Earth, of course, along with Chiron and a close conjunction of Eris and the North Node. The Nodal points close to the Sun-Earth axis are to be expected, as that occurs with each set of eclipses, symbolically signaling the idea of Lunar extremity, the very kind of definitive change we should expect from an eclipse. For either Solar or Lunar eclipses, circumstances are reaching an apex, a pivot point, a point of no return, a point at which Things Will Change, with the Solar like a conception (the beginning of a thing), the Lunar like a birth (the arrival of the completed thing).

But in order for something to be conceived, previous conditions have to be set aside–it’s that old physical conundrum about two things unable to occupy the same space at the same time–so that a Solar eclipse can sometimes feels anti-climactic, a tiny sparkle in an empty space, a glimmer of newness to come, perhaps overwhelmed by a hollowness left by what is not there, anymore. We may feel things have ended and be looking around for the new start, or we may just then become aware that something is no longer–and only in that moment realize there are new opportunities ahead (because nature and vacuums, right?)

This time we may be heading toward fresh ambitions and goals (Zeus), our desires just taking coherent form (Superior Conjunction–expect to really understand what the eclipse means for you then), and they grow either from past experience and what we’ve learned, or from a previous want we’ve long forgotten or abandoned, perhaps thinking it was never to be (South Node). An old desire comes back to life–but will this be a genuinely new crack at achieving what we want, or will it be a zombie, re-animated but without the Soul presence needed to make a living, breathing result? Those zombies will be Plutonian, once again visible since Pluto’s recent direction: serious, potentially life-changing, resurrecting something you never thought would happen, so it may be hard to distinguish between what’s coming back that really is a birth (or re-birth), and what’s dead on its feet.

This Solar eclipse says there are others waiting to assist, cooperate, or partner, under aesthetic conditions we find pleasing (unless this eclipse hits by hard aspect a natal body involved with this particular desire/ ambition–then it could be a much different story). This may be surprising, or emerge out of chaos, with the eclipse forming a quincunx to Uranus in Taurus, but in either case, others will appreciate our originality, and want to help. Then there are the oppositions: to Chiron (which is at a degree prior to eclipse formation, suggesting a wound already suffered is part of what leads to now), bringing reactions or lessons derived from hurt into the mix, and to the Eris-North Node combination, which could suggest one of two things: either women or anima sensibilities are instrumental in shaping the future path, or that any underlying conflicts will surface, and in so doing, shape what comes. The oppositions are in Aries, implying that the individuality and Will, ours and that of those with whom we deal, will be the form these challenges arrive in. It may seem like our interactions are caught in the vagaries of personality on the one-to-one level, but we must recognize that each of these persons represents something larger, a force, a trend, the Universe itself, and that we’ll all be communicating larger matters for one another.

The Sun and Moon also form a semi-square to Venus in Virgo, and as ruler of both the current positions of Uranus and the eclipse, tells us a few things, chief among them that our critical judgment may be in crisis mode, under- or over-doing assessment, and Venus herself is widely conjoined the Black Moon Lilith point, which is opposed Saturn at 00 Pisces. This is a mini-portrait of the potential for relationships and/ or financial situations that will be sabotaged through an unwillingness to see reality, whether that’s by denying or ignoring important aspects of the matter, by allowing righteous anger to make our decisions for us, or by a simple denial of reality, and particularly denial of real-world problems or barriers we just don’t want to acknowledge–and this is all reinforced by Mars in Scorpio sextile Black Moon Lilith, quincunx Sedna, and trine Saturn, spelling Willfulness fueled by the darker side of our nature, and easily manifested in the world. This can mean that our eclipse new start is at first wrapped in just this kind of bull-headed resistance, a zombie of a circumstance that just won’t die–and that only after we deal with this distraction and the distortions we’ve allowed to our own perceptions will we be able to locate that glimmer of a new start.

The Sabian for the New Moon eclipse is, ‘A Child Giving Birds A Drink At A Fountain’. What strikes me about this is the phrasing: “giving birds a drink”. The water is there, maybe poured into the fountain by the child (though a fountain, by definition, already contains water), but still, that child can’t really give them a drink, they must come to it–her only real contribution may be that she doesn’t flap her arms and shoo them away! I think this points to the need for clear perspective, to see what we’re really doing, saying, or being, and the needed effort to refrain from obscuring what’s going on (by using euphemisms, by omitting facts, by making assumptions, by placing a veil of opinion or prejudice over matters) in a way that may skew the event in the perceptions. This may relate to Venus in Virgo as ruler of the eclipse: our judgment is a little wonky, so striving for clear sight may be the most helpful thing we can do.